Bluestone Now Reads Comprehensive Credit Reporting on Every Debt and Wants One Year of Tax Returns. The Repayment History Is the New Gate on a Near-Prime File

Most policy round-ups read as a list. This one is better read as a trade.

Bluestone has made it easier to document income and easier to place larger loans and unusual security. At the same time it has made the credit file harder to look past. According to Broker Daily‘s policy round-up on 23 October, Comprehensive Credit Reporting now applies to all debts on a Bluestone application, with the most recent six months reviewed for mortgages and the most recent month for personal loans and credit cards.

For the clients who end up at a specialist lender, that is the part that decides the file.

What changed

The round-up lists seven changes. In plain terms:

• Credit reporting. CCR applies to all debts. Six months of mortgage repayment history and one month of personal loan and credit card history are reviewed.
• Full-doc verification. One year of tax returns and a Notice of Assessment.
• Casual employment. Less than six months can be considered under Specialist and Specialist+ products.
• Loan limits. Prime loans up to $5 million below 70% LVR in metropolitan locations, total exposure capped at $15 million.
• Land size. Up to 10 acres (four hectares).
• Multiple dwellings. Up to four dwellings on a single title.
• Development approvals. Security with an active DA may be accepted, subject to a statutory declaration that the borrower will not act on the approval.

Bluestone’s own online Quick Policy Guide, last updated 7 October 2026, already shows the self-employed full-doc requirement as one year’s tax return and Notice of Assessment, with documents no older than 21 months. It also says the guide “is not a representation of our complete policy” and points brokers to their BDM. Treat every number here the same way: confirmed for the deal, not assumed.

Why the credit file now carries more weight

Comprehensive Credit Reporting means the bureau record shows more than enquiries and defaults. It carries repayment history information: whether each monthly payment was made on time. A lender that reads that history across every debt can see patterns that a negative-only file never showed.

Bluestone’s window is short and specific. Six months on the mortgage. One month on cards and personal loans. That is a lender saying it cares about recent conduct, not ancient history. It also means a client who missed a card payment four weeks ago, while the rest of the file is clean, now has that payment in front of the assessor.

The practical consequence is about sequencing. If you are not pulling and reading the credit file before you choose the lender, you are finding out what the assessor sees at the same time the assessor does.

The one-year tax return: who it actually helps

Many lenders still ask self-employed full-doc borrowers for two years of financials. A one-year path helps a specific set of clients: the business that moved structure recently, the operator whose most recent year is much stronger than the one before, and the client whose accountant is slow but whose latest return and NOA are in hand.

It does not turn a weak file into a strong one. One year of tax returns is still a full-doc assessment of what the return says. If the latest year is the weaker year, an alt doc or a different lender may still be the better route, and TBT covered how Firstmac’s new alt-doc product changes that comparison this week.

Bluestone’s guide lists separate alt doc options: six months of BAS, six months of business bank statements, or an accountant’s letter. Pick the document path that tells the truest story about the income, then pick the product.

Bigger loans and odd security

The higher limit is the change most likely to surprise a broker who has Bluestone filed under “small specialist loans”. Up to $5 million below 70% LVR in metropolitan locations, with total exposure capped at $15 million, puts it in range for larger owner-occupied and investment files that do not fit a bank’s box.

The security changes matter for the same kind of client. A property on 10 acres, a title with up to four dwellings, or a block with a development approval that has not been acted on are common sticking points at prime lenders. The DA change comes with a condition: a statutory declaration confirming the borrower will not act on the approval. That declaration is a document your client signs. Explain what it commits them to before they sign it, and keep a note that you did.

The best-interests record when you place at a specialist

Specialist placements cost more. That is not a problem in itself. It becomes one when the file does not say why.

ASIC’s Report 840, released on 12 October, reviewed 13 credit licensees across eight broker groups. Seven of the eight reported that brokers did not recommend the cheapest option in more than 20% of cases, and ASIC found instances where there was no clear evidence to support the recommendation. Commissioner Alan Kirkland said that where a broker recommends a loan that costs more than the available alternatives, consumers should be able to clearly understand why. TBT covered what ASIC found in the recorded reasons when the report landed.

For a Bluestone file, the reasons are usually concrete: a recent repayment history a prime lender would decline, a single year of financials, casual tenure under six months, or security outside a bank’s appetite. Write the specific reason down. “Client did not fit bank policy” is not a reason. “Prime lender X requires two years of financials and the client has one” is.

A working sequence for the next Bluestone file

1. Read the bureau file before choosing the lender. Six months of mortgage history. One month on every card and personal loan. Note anything late.
2. Choose the income path. Full doc on one year’s return and NOA, or alt doc on BAS, bank statements or an accountant’s letter.
3. Check the security against the new limits. Land size, dwelling count, any active DA.
4. Confirm the loan size and LVR band. The $5 million figure is prime, metropolitan and below 70% LVR.
5. Workshop it with the BDM. The online guide is a guide.
6. Record the comparison. What the prime alternative was, why it did not fit, and what the client chose.

What to watch

Bluestone has also flagged changes to some fees and charges from 16 November 2026 on its notices page, including arrears management fees and when break costs may apply to fixed-rate loans. If you have clients on Bluestone loans now, that is a separate conversation worth diarising.

More broadly, expect more lenders to lean on full CCR data. The lenders that read repayment history closely will price and decline on it. The brokers who read it first will not be surprised.